


Glassy Sky [Shingeki no Kyojin x Boku no Hero Academia]

by KimMicolIzzo



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe, Characters Are Pro Heroes (My Hero Academia), Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Deutsch | German, Gay Character, Germany, High School, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, Modern Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:14:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29195127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KimMicolIzzo/pseuds/KimMicolIzzo
Summary: Crossover • Alternative UniverseLevi Ackerman x OcLevi Ackerman, Furlan Church, and Isabel Magnolia are three criminals operating in the slums of Berlin. In a world where, after a genetic mutation, humans have developed supernatural powers, being a criminal has its pros and cons. But, after been captured by the Heroes, their life changes radically. From being the most feared thugs in the capital, the three end up becoming the most abused students of the Legion, the school to become Hero in Berlin. Wanting at all costs to be respected and adored again, Levi ends up antagonizing Sarah Liberty Smith, the institute's current number one student. Between boring theoretical lessons and tests, the three will begin to understand what it truly means to be a Pro Hero.
Relationships: Erwin Smith & Original Female Character(s), Levi Ackerman & Original Female Character(s)





	1. ⋌1.I⋋

**Author's Note:**

> This book is a crossover between Shingeki no Kyojin and Boku no Hero Academia. Is the English adaptation of "Glassy Sky" written o Wattpad by KimMicolIzzo_ITA. All translation rights go to me, me and only me (and Grammarly, but he didn't pay me for this, so shut up and lemme write what I want).
> 
> The plot of this work will not include the events that actually happened in the manga. It will only be inspired by the dynamics, but these characters and situations will not be present.
> 
> Inside the story you may find:  
> \- Vulgar and scurrilous language;  
> \- Physical and psychological violence;  
> \- Erotic scenes (explicit and implicit/No porn)
> 
> The ages of many of the characters are changed, and there will be extra characters to make it more reasonable. Many behaviors and reactions of canonical characters will have changed for the purpose of the plot (OOC).
> 
> All rights of the work go first of all to Kōhei Horikoshi and Kenji Nagasaki, sequentially, the author of the manga and the director of the anime of Boku no Hero Academia.
> 
> The characters in this work have all rights reserved to Hajime Isayama, creator of Shingeki no Kyojin. Everything that is written in this story is purely fantasy, and any reference to really existing things, people, and places will be completely random.
> 
> Please don't argue in the comments on ships and plot. English in not my first language so for any kind of mistakes plese fell free to make me know I'm her for learning too. Also, I remind you that every rights on my characters are mine. In case you want to make more fan-fictions, drawings, or other, please mention me as the author.
> 
> After this, I wish you happy reading and have fun o(^◇^)o
> 
> "𝐊𝐢𝐦" 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐥 𝐈𝐳𝐳𝐨

The rhythmic steps of the three boys suddenly became less silent. They quickly passed the closed shops, protected by the shutters, awfully painted with some spray paint, and went down the subway, hoping that the people who had joined them on that delightful "walk" through the slums of Berlin had not the real intention of following them. When they heard them go down the stairs behind them and turn in their direction, they began to become suspicious.

«They are following us,» Furlan whispered without turning. The boy in front of him nodded, having understood by now too.

«I would say yes,» he said without altering the rhythm of his journey.

«How many are they?» Isabel asked, turning slightly, with a fear tone in her voice. Furlan slowed his speed, trying to figure out the number of steps behind them. They were about to join them now. He pretended to adjust a shoe and quickly reached his friends.

«Four, I guess. I don't know if there are others,» said. Levi shook his head, thinking about what to do.

«What are they?» he asked when he felt them even closer.

«Vigilantes.» said the blond having recognized the uniforms with the coat of arms with roses. As their boss tried to put together a working plan, they realized that, once the last corner was turned, the underpass was about to end. The stairs were getting closer, and their pursuers seemed intent on not letting them run away, rushing their pace. They tried to turn into the corridor that would open just before the ramp, but Levi, activating the quirk, saw that three more policemen would appear. Not being able to risk the accuracy of this vision, he decided they would fight. It wasn't the first time they did it, so it shouldn't have been any different.

«Put on the masks,» he said, taking what the girl handed him, just pulled from her shoulder strap. Not that they needed much, since they had seen their faces, but they would have prevented them from being hit by some paralyzing quirk. In their present society, made up of eighty percent of highly gifted beings, living had become much more difficult. It was true that, having a superpower made them had a much better chance of succeeding, whatever it was their goal, but the fact that the police also possessed it gave them much more trouble. Almost every day they fought with a criminal or a policeman and this could be seen as "very electrifying" (according to Isabel) or "very tiring" (according to Levi). Once they put on the gas mask, they turned into the corridor and realized that Levi's vision was correct: three men in black uniform prepared to attack them.

«Let's go!» Isabel shouted, running towards one of them, followed by the two companions, who jumped on the other two. When they saw the Vigilantes in the middle create a metal stick from his body, Furlan, whose power, called by himself Switch, consisted of being able to exchange the position of an object not far from himself with what he had in his hand, took from the ground a can and proceeded to make the replacement. He smiled under the mask when he saw the surprised look of the man, finding an old trampled can in his hands. The boy used the new weapon to drop the opponent and threw it to his friend who, once gripped it, used its length to jump over the policeman in front of him, as if it had been a pole for the jump. Once he landed behind him, Levi hit his back, causing him to fall. They didn't have time to get them done, as the previous four cops had now rejoined with them. Even though it was routine for them, fighting always gave them a lot of adrenaline.

«Concentrate!» Levi said to them, continuing to run. He saw that they would meet three other men out of there, but he was sure they would make it. He had also seen, thanks to his quirk, their possible capture, so all they had to do was avoid it.

«Got it!» they answered him in agreement. They ran quickly towards the exit, ready to face other Vigilantes, when a tall and bulky figure appeared before them, making them stop. While they were missing the kick he had tried to give them, the three noticed that he was not wearing the Vigilantes uniform. Instead, he exhibited a complex costume that could only mean one thing.

«The Heroes?!» Isabel shouted, giving voice to their thought.

«Why did they care about us?» Furlan asked backing away. They suddenly found themselves trapped, with four policemen behind and a Pro Hero in front of them.

«Let's split. I'll be "you-know-where".» Levi ordered, starting the attack. If he had taken care of the Hero, then he would have given way to his friends to fight the Vigilantes, much less powerful than their colleagues. The two nodded and headed back. The boy looked at them one last time.

«Be careful, Goddammit,» he whispered, parrying a blow from the opponent with the metal rod he still had in his hand. He tried to make amends to those few times he'd seen who the current top ten Pro Heroes were. Given that they changed every two years, because of the reselection, the last time he checked he seemed to see his opponent and, if he remembered correctly, it must have been the number three. The name eluded him at the moment, but he remembered well that his quirk had to do with the sense of smell. Despite the not particularly interesting power, the man seemed very well suited for combat and Levi had a hard time dodging some of his shots. Even if he had anticipated them, it was not easy to understand how fast and powerful they were. In short, his capacity was slightly limited to just the image.

"He's strong. I have to find a way to get him out of my way." he thought hitting him again and, taking advantage of that hole, escaping beyond him. He entered the subway station, running behind the homeless and the early workers. He wouldn't hurt them, but he was particularly annoyed by their presence. He took advantage of the crowd that climbed from the tracks to make his tracks lose. He turned and saw that the Hero was no longer following him.

«I should have lost him.» he thought slowing down. He had taken him far enough from his companions, but also far enough from any exits. He ran to the stairs, ready to surface, but was blocked again. This time his opponent partially destroyed the flight of stairs.

«Tch!» he jumped to the side and muffled the fall by rolling. When he got up and leaned against the wall, he recognized in his attacker the current Pro Hero number one Heil *. He didn't remember his quirk, but the mere fact that he called himself like that gave him enough confidence about his skills. He couldn't defeat him. Even his uncle would not have succeeded. He just had to avoid getting caught. If they called them, it was because they were counting on the fact that this time they would succeed, right? While still trying to figure out what to do, the man hit him. He poked the wall behind him, causing a crater around his striking punch. Levi hit him with the metal stick, but when he passed the weapon near his face, the man grabbed it. Before he could do anything, it began to vibrate violently. The rush of vibrations ran through it to the boy, who felt his body shaking sickeningly. He let go of the stick, it's slowly stopped. With his eyes still swinging, he, fortunately, dodged a shot and threw himself over the opponent. All he could do was leave. He felt that this was nothing compared to what he was able.

«What the fuck is this quirk?» he thought aloud, running away. He still felt his bones vibrate, so much so that he had to hide behind the coffee machines to catch his breath. When the feeling of being on a carousel stopped, he insulted the Hero.

«It would be better to leave.» whispered. He didn't know where his friends were, but he couldn't reach them now. He had to get past Heil first. He checked if something could happen in the next five minutes and, after confirming that there was surely nothing dangerous, he started running again. He heard the sound of the metro in the distance. If he had been fast enough, perhaps he could have picked her up and got off at the first stop. The Heroes, according to the law, could not attack public transportation. He jumped the turnstiles and ran to the stairs, ignoring the calls from the controller. He heard voices behind him, which prompted him to run even faster.

«Liberty!» he heard from the end of the corridor.

«Liberty?» he wondered. Were they calling another Hero? He had never heard this name before and had never even read it anywhere. They had to be new. As soon as he got to the ramp that led to the train track, he saw a female figure at the end. She stared at him, dressed like an eighteenth-century soldier, up and down. Levi stopped in the middle of the staircase, realizing that it was probably "Liberty" He heard her muttering something without taking her eyes off him. He didn't know how much she could see, since the mask covered his entire face.

«Huh?» was all he could say. The girl took a step forward, and, as soon as the heel of the boot touched the first step, a transparent peak formed under it and began to rise towards him.

"And who the fuck is she?" he thought, stepping back. Seeing the construction disappear in a swirl of blue sparkles, the boy looked better at his opponent. The face, surrounded by blond hair tied in a tail, made Levi think that it should not have been bigger than Isabel. He could be wrong, but he doubted it strongly. Was she a baby Pro Hero?

«Future forecast... Future forecast...» he heard her humming in a voice comparable to a breath. She knew what his quirk was, seemed. He decided to use it immediately. According to the most possible version of the future, the girl would attack him from the front, beating a couple of shots. He waited for her to rush towards him, but it wasn't like that. She only hit the wall and listened to the noise spreading on the stairs.

"How does she change the future like this?" he wondered, since there were no safer paths. Had she done something that made everything possible? And had she done it with a simple punch on the wall? Suddenly the walls around them were covered with a thick crystalline armor, equal to the one she had created just before. Levi glanced from one side of the staircase to the other, not knowing what to do. When he heard the way out behind him block, he understood the girl's plan, but it was not predictable enough to know her next move. He, therefore, decided to attack her himself, confident that it would open up new possibilities. Sprinting as fast as possible, he prepared to hit her with the dagger he had just pulled from his belt.

"Gotcha bitch!" he thought, preparing to give her a right hook. The girl did not take her eyes off him or move. As soon as the knife was near her shoulder, embellished with a golden shoulder strap, a sort of crystalline sculpture was created under the weapon, shattering the digger. Levi watched the tip of the knife fly beside him and hit the mask's glasses, breaking them slightly. He could not do anything, because the Hero took his arm with both hands and turned it around her. With a slight elbow blow from the girl, he found himself no longer touching the ground, and only felt the kick she gave him, and that sent him down, straight towards the elevator door at the bottom of the stairs.

«That fucking hurt!» he screamed as soon as his body stopped against the metal wall. He hadn't broken through it, but he had sunk it well. He felt his kidney-level skin burn and a wet sensation covering his area. He tried to turn around to see if he had hurt himself as much as he seemed. Before he could check, he felt his hands and feet obstructed.

«Don't move, or you'll get worse.» the girl ordered him, blocking him on the ground with crystal. He bent down to face his face and gently removed his mask, being careful not to tear his hair as he untied it. She was particularly impressed by the boy's beauty despite his frowning face. Levi gave her a hateful look, intended to make her stop, but Hero didn't stop looking at him that way. It bothered him somehow. Had he almost killed him and now looked at him like that?

«Sarah! You got him?» the voice in her earphone made her shivered. She got up quickly and, blushing slightly, answered her partner on the other side.

«Yes. Please call the medical team. I accidentally injured him,» she said, turning back to the stairs.

«Accidentally?» he gritted his teeth at that sentence. Hate towards her had grown, like his back pain. He tried to get rid of the "handcuffs", but the crystalline growths scratched his wrists. The girl told him not to move and stopped on the first step in front of him, waiting for his co-workers.

«I can't predict everything, you know?» she excused herself, stretching her lips to a straight line. Levi thought she was a stupid girl.

«Liberty.» they heard from the top of the stairs. Heil appeared shortly, stopping beside the girl. He put a hand on her shoulder and stared at the criminal. He started to approach him, but was stopped by the less one.

«Wait, they have to cure it. Did you get them?» she asked, taking his wrist lightly and staring at the boy over her shoulder. The Hero nodded, making the angry expression disappear from the boy's face.

*Heil = Salvation (in German)


	2. ⋌2.I⋋

«Levi Ackerman.» said a voice in front of him. The boy raised his head, which, until then, had been bent over to admire the bright floor, so clean that he could mirror himself. He raised his face to his interlocutor, but found himself only looking at his image reflected in a mirror. He guessed that, whoever called him, was behind that reflective surface.

«Where are my friends?» he asked, staring at the reflection in front of him. How long had it been? One day? Two? They had thrown him into a police truck, that escorted him to who knows where, without any information, sedating him just before closing him in a prison cell. He wondered if he was in the station or the hospital at the time, since they had done the same to bring him there. The room, white enough to bring blindness, presented nothing but the chair on which he was sitting, which held him firmly by the wrists and ankles with laces.

«They're safe, don't worry.» the voice from before answered again. It must have been a man in his fifties, most likely one of the policemen who had captured him. A tremendous doubt came over where he might be, but he pushed it back into the maze in his brain where it had come.

«What do you want from me?» he asked nervously. He didn't want to be in there, even though everything was pleasantly tidy.

«We ask the questions, Ackerman. Do you know this man?» a jail photo of a man appeared on the mirror. Levi swallowed, recognizing his uncle Kenny Ackerman in the picture, called "The Ripper". He had lived with him for a few years, until the man got tired of him and abandoned him to himself, at the young age of thirteen. Even though he hated him deeply for that, he owed his life to him. If it weren't for him, he would surely have died. He stood staring at that grinning face, fearfully similar to hers.

«You don't want to talk, huh? All right. Both your friends have already sung.» resumed the voice. Levi gritted his teeth slightly.

«I know these fucking tricks, I don't helmet them,» he said, breathing deeply. He had to calm down, or he would have played their game.

«Tricks? Oh no, they truly sang. They told us that you are his nephew...» he informed him. The boy was amazed at the news. They had betrayed him...

«As if?» he said, lowering his head slightly. Anger felt boiling in his body and flowing into his cheeks, which began to pinch him. He wanted to kill whoever it was the person that was driving him out of his mind.

«So it's true?» shooting. The boy shot up his head and started screaming.

«I didn't say that, human shit! I said that-» but Nile didn't want to hear it anymore and suddenly turned the microphone down. He ran a hand over his tired face as he watched him rail against him. Heil, who had been sitting next to him the whole time, got up and walked over to him.

«Nile. I'll take care of it.» he proposed to his colleague and former classmate. Nile turned abruptly to his feet, staring angrily into his eyes. The height difference didn't help, that was for sure.

«Erwin, I have the task of questioning him. Mind your own business,» he said through gritted teeth. Just the fact that he was a Pro Hero bothered the Gendarme, who, in exchange for better payment and the chance to be more with his family, had bitterly decided to become the current director of the penitentiary. In short, he envied him. Heil held that poisonous look, knowing that to move a boy of Levi's age, you had to push specific keys, or you risked blowing them up.

«Nile, let me try,» he said, leaning on the console. He pressed the speaker button and, before Nile could stop him, he spoke.

«Ackerman,» he said, staring at the young man in front of him who, hearing a different voice, stopped suddenly.

«Who the fuck is now?» he asked as he caught his breath. The man saw the drops of sweat running down his pearly forehead. He was surely furious, he thought.

«I'm Erwin Smith, pleasure to meet you.» he introduced himself, sitting down. Savior Hero: Heil, whose civilian name was Erwin Smith, was currently Germany's number one Pro Hero. He had decided to become one after his companion, with whom he had a daughter, had been brutally killed by a Villain fourteen years earlier. The man had never forgiven himself for leaving her alone and had vowed to raise their child in the best way. And, although he did not consider himself a model father, but not one of the worst, his daughter had allowed him to learn something about how to make teenagers talk about what he wanted.

«It would be much nicer if I could see you,» he complained, snorting and raising his chin.

«Sadly, we cannot afford this luxury.» he smiled slightly, thinking he looked a lot like his daughter. Seeing that the boy's expression had relaxed lightly, perhaps because he now knew the name of his interrogator, he took out the folder dedicated to him.

«Levi... I can call you that, right?- the boy nodded -Then, Levi, you have an interesting quirk.» he continued, reading what they had understood about him in previous years.

«So?»

«Tell me a little bit about what it is.» She stared at him, crossing his hands under his chin. According to reports, it was a sensory quirk. They were not rare, but quite uncommon in Germany, maybe due to marriages between more compliant powers that had begun to take place over the past decade. The government had decided that there would be a fund for families who would give birth to new powers. It meant that the sensory quirks had been discarded, since they did not change much from generation to generation.

«Why?» Levi snorted slightly, lowering his head. He definitely wanted to see who was busting his chops like that.

«Because I want. I'd say it's a sensory quirk, isn't it?» continued the man. The boy nodded slightly, clenching his fists.

«Yes. Yes, it is. I can predict a version of the future very close to me.»

«A version of the future?»

«A sure one,» he explained better. Prevision, one of the last sensory quirks that were in Germany, was able to show him, in the form of fast images as if it were a videotape, what would certainly happen, in a maximum time of five minutes, to him. It varied from the traditional future vision, since he could not see anything that was not at least sixty percent certain. He had seen that three figures would attack them, and it had come true, but as "Liberty" understood that what she would do had foreseen it by now, had changed his vision. It was easily editable and was not as versatile as one could imagine. When he finished explaining it to him, he thought that possibly what his uncle had told him when he was young was true. Sensory powers were disappearing. His quirk would never have passed to his eventual descendant, if he ever had one. The only way was to have one with a "quirk-less", that twenty percent of the population that had been born devoid of any kind of uniqueness, or with someone with a weak quirk, such as telekinesis.

«Kenny's quirk is from the same type.» Erwin violently brought him back to reality, and Levi frowned at that inaccurate statement.

«No, Kenny's one is-» he stopped, realizing that he had fallen into his trap. Ah, he thought, this can do with words.

«Is..?» invited him to continue. By now, he could not shut up. He closed his eyes and sighed. It made no sense to cover up that bastard who was his uncle. He might as well take him sank with him.

«That miserable devil has a quirk that warns of danger...» he said softly, remembering when he had seen him use it. He didn't know much, but at least he could give them what they wanted.

«So, always sensorial?»

«Yeah...» nodded. Erwin stared at him for a few moments, admiring that strange individual. He didn't know how Liberty managed to win against him. He was interested to understand both better now. He read that the date and place of birth were not present, since it had not been registered in the registry office.

«Levi, how long have you lived in the outskirts?» he asked, taking a post-it and a pen.

«Since I was born,» he replied. Erwin asked him when he was born exactly, and Levi gave him a date: December twenty-fifth. He was merely eighteen years old, then. Unable to know his birthplace, he simply marked "Berlin". He attached the piece of paper to the criminal information sheet and closed the folder.

«Have you ever thought that you could use your uniqueness to do ... good?» he asked, putting his hands under his face, mindful of any possible reaction.

«As you Heroes?»

«Exactly.» the boy snorted and stared at him with hatred.

«No. I won't be a government puppet,» he explained, clenching his fists again.

«But you will be nothing if you don't accept,» Erwin informed him, entertained by his reaction.

«Do you know where you are?- the boy remained silent, a sign that he did not know exactly -You are in Unterwelt, the maximum-security prison for Villain,» he explained. Levi's eyes widened, realizing that his doubt was well-founded. Unterwelt, which in German meant "Underworld", was one of the most impenetrable prisons in the world. Built around the seventies, immediately after the arrival of the Heroes and, consequently, of the Villains, it presented one of the best safeties that existed, directed at that time by Nile Dowk. Levi didn't think it would ever end there. His uncle had narrowly avoided it.

«I'm not a Villain...» he whispered, returning to look at the floor. He didn't have to be there. Kenny had to, not him.

«Pardon?» Erwin asked, though the microphones were powerful enough to have heard him. He just wanted him to better explain himself.

«I am not a Villain. Kenny is a Villain. I didn't kill anyone.» he said, raising his head suddenly and bringing the body forward, feeling his ankles and wrists scratching themselves with leather straps. He didn't want to be there.

«Levi, my colleague right here says you're lying.» he heard his interlocutor sigh. He stopped to stare at the window in front of him. He didn't know if it was a bluff or not. The first guy might have had a sensory quirk too. Could he see if he was lying or not? The answer, he couldn't have known, was yes.

«No...» he whispered. There had been only one time he had killed a person: It was when his uncle had abandoned him, leaving him alone in the middle of a fight on the street. Clenching his fists, even more, Levi thought that the bastard had brought him there in his place. And for that only one time he had committed murder.

«So, do you want to stay here, to rot for eternity, or would you rather try to become a Hero?» resumed Erwin, knowing that such a potential served society. Well trained, a sensory quirk could change the tide of battle. Hearing no response, he decided that there was no point in continuing the interrogation.

«You are young Levi, think carefully,» he said before getting up and taking his things.

«That brat...» he heard him whisper, making him block. He pressed the switch, anxious about who he wanted to know something.

«Who are you talking about?»

«The brat who caught me. She is a Hero too, right?» he asked, staring at the reflection. She had hurt him grievously, he thought. From under the taupe prison garment, he could well feel the long bandage that was surrounding his abdomen.

«No, she is not. Yet. She is studying to become one, though.» answered the man. Liberty had participated in the mission because she had to start the field trials and also because it had been a fairly harmless mission, given that although they had never been able to capture them in years and years, no Vigilantes had ever died.

«There are some schools to become Hero?» the boy went on, wanting to understand if the rumors were true and not.

"Schools for Hero..." he thought, staring at the tips of his feet.

«One does not become this way, offhand,» Erwin explained with a sigh.

«Should I take classes, then?»

«Of course.»

«And my friends?»

«They too,» he concluded by gesturing to the two Gendarmes who were with him and Nile to take the boy away. A red light began to flash in the center of his reflected forehead, and in a short time, the room became dark. Levi understood that they had come to the end of that asphyxiating interrogation when he felt a sharp smell rise to his nostrils, making him gradually tired.

＊＊＊

«Levi!» he heard himself called while he was in line at the prison restaurant. As soon as he had finished being served, he looked for the person who had called him.

«Furlan!» he exulted seriously, seeing him standing next to a table a few meters from him.

«Are you okay?» he asked once the boy joined him. Levi nodded, even he did not seem. He felt very tired, maybe also because he had recently woken up from the sleep that they had induced him. From the glass ceiling above him, he saw the round corridors of the penitentiary well lit and understood that it must be evening.

«Where's Isabel?» he asked before sitting down. Furlan scratched the back of his neck.

«In the women's section. What have they done?» he changed the topic, seeing the exhausted expression of his friend.

«Nothing, they interrogated me.» she shrugged as she watched him sit down.

«And?» he asked, his voice trembling. Levi looked at him grimly.

«They said you sang,» he said, looking closely at his friend. Seeing that his friend had begun to sweat, he lost his temper.

«What the fuck Furlan!» he said, slamming the plate on the table, plus turning a small group of shark-men around, sitting at the table next to them. He could not believe that he had transgressed the first rule they had imposed themselves: Do not betray.

«I thought they locked you in without asking you anything. They asked me to become a Hero, but I said no. But when they asked about Kenny...» he tried to apologize to his friend, even though he knew that such a disloyalty could not be pardoned. Levi put all aside and sat down.

«Look, I think we could try to become moppets,» he said, starting to eat her dinner.

«Eh?» Furlan said, not sure what he had just heard. Levi lowered his voice and leaned towards his friend, seated in front of him.

«Look here- he said, looking quickly left and right -They're all Villains. We are not like them.»

«So, what are we, then?»

«Not Villains. We killed people, that's true, but-»

«YOU killed people.» she corrected him by stopping to eat and giving him a bored look.

«I killed people. Look, didn't you want to make Isabel go away from that shit?» he changed the subject. He had been complaining for years that the slums were too dangerous for a girl like Isabel.

«Yeah, but I don't know if it is appropriate to totally change sides.» he sighed, returning to his meal. Not that he was so wrong, but it was still their territory. They had built a reputation there. And it was also the reason why they were there now. At least they were no longer inside isolation cells, they thought.

«Furlan, they'll never get us out of here.» gli spiegò ricordandosi le parole del suo interrogatore.

«What?» he asked, not believing he had heard correctly. Staring at a group of Villains while playing cards in front of them, Levi explained to him what they had told him.

«They will keep us here for eternity.»

«Who told you?»

«One of the two dicks who interrogated me.»

«You say that's true?»

«Do you want to stay here and find out for yourself?» he pointed the plastic cutlery at him, making him swallow the bread with difficulty. He was right: They had to get moving.

«I think you're right. But it's not that we really know how to read and write, huh.» Furlan laughed. In truth, they knew how to do it, but their vocabulary was very poor, and, for eighteen-year-olds, they knew very little about everything that was done at school.

«It doesn't matter, because they'll teach us.»

«They who?»

«The Heroes, you idiot.» he hit him under the table. Furlan snorted, narrowing his eyes, not convinced of the choice.

«How did they catch you?» asked his friend. The blond opened his eyes suddenly.

«A madwoman came out. She looked like a dog, or maybe a fox would be more correct. She left me this.» he said, lowering, after sending furtive glances around them, the collar of the gray sweatshirt. Levi glimpsed a large white patch, used for deep cuts. A rush of chills ran down his spine.

«They also bruised me.» He felt his back pinch at the memory. It had gone much better than he thought.

«Who?» the other asked him, adjusting his garment and going back to eating.

«A tall, blonde kid. They called her Liberty if I remember correctly,» he explained, playing with his steak. It was terribly hard.

«Do she speak like a 50s movie?»

«Yes.» he shook his head, remembering her peculiar voice. It seemed to come from one of those black and white films that sometimes they had given on the television owned by the family who lived under them. They had opened a hole on the floor and occasionally peeked at what the housewife looked. They seemed mostly romantic films of those years.

«She must be their boss. I heard her voice as the fox took me away. But that animal called her Sarah.» he explained with a frown.

«Maybe it was her Hero name, although, to tell the truth, she isn't.» Levi considered, however, remembered that they weren't officially Heroes.

«She's not a Hero?»

«No, she's still studying.»

«So, she's smaller than us.» the blond boy noticed. They stared into each other eyes, sighing in unison.

«Tch, we got caught by some fucking children- he grumbled -And Isabel?»

«She says there was a boy for her. Did they try to guess our sexuality or what?» he chuckled, remembering those few moments he had seen their friend's pursuer.

«What a pain in the ass.» commented the other resting his chin on his hand.

«Yup.» his friend nodded. After a few moments spent in silence, marked only by the chatter of the other Villains, Levi resumed his previous speech.

«Then, we will become?» he asked. He wanted to know if they agreed. He wanted to do it, despite everything. He wanted to try to become a Hero. Maybe someday he would even take revenge on Kenny.

«We find a way to ask Isabel, and then we'll decide. We do not have much time.» Furlan simply replied. The friend nodded, and the conversation ended.

«The food sucks,» he said shortly after, pushing the plate in disgust. It was all cold, and the taste was almost non-existent.

«At least it's edible.» Furlan consoled himself by taking what he left of his dinner.

«See if you can learn anything.» he made fun of him. The boy felt insulted.

«Sorry if I'm not a fucking chef.» he raised his hands to the sky, well aware that he was not an expert on the topic.

«The stuff you always burns, you idiot.» Levi reminded him, showing him the burn on the thumb he had done the last time he tried.

«You are the idiot, garden gnome.» Furlan snorted, pulling up his sleeves. Levi stared at him with a murderous look.

«Tch, if I weren't my friend, I would have killed you, y' a know?» he informed him by crossing his arms over his chest and returning to see the restaurant. It was large and low, with the colors all tending to white, except the beige tables on which they were eating. He thought that they had been lucky, given that they had considered them not too dangerous and, therefore, suitable for walking around their penitentiary area alone.

«I wanted to risk.» the blonde smiled, finishing his water. As he glanced over the building above them, he stopped suddenly.

«Here she is!» he spat the drink a little. Levi was shocked.

«Who?» he asked, giving him his handkerchief. His friend took it and, as he dried himself, pointed to a spot above his head.

«The crazy bitch,» he said, pointing to a figure appearing behind the glass on the second floor. Levi turned and saw, through it, a fire-haired girl leaning against the transparent wall, evidently engaged in a conversation with someone. Beside her, another figure appeared, making the boy's eyes widen. He recognized his chaser in her.


	3. ⋌3.I⋋

«My name is Isabel Magnolia, nice to meet you.» the girl said with a slight movement of her head. The girls lined up in front of her, brought their right fist to their chest, slightly spreading their legs, and greeted her in chorus. The girl compared them to female soldiers. That new class, with which she would spend her new life as a student, was composed only of females. She was sure she also saw boys in there, but, since she had met Professor Weber, who had introduced herself as her homeroom and math teacher, their presence had completely vanished.

«Smith, could you show her the building?» asked the woman next to her, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. At that touch, Isabel shivered.

«With great pleasure.» said one of the students coming forward. It was a tall, toned build girl, with very long legs, and, as the folds of her shirt fell on her chest, she must have been much more mature than her companions.

She had long blond hair held up in a high tail that ended, just below the chest, in many natural locks. Since the hair-line was brought by her to her right side, a tuft covered her forehead, going to lean on one of the two fairly thick eyebrows.

The blue eyes, surrounded by long blond eyelashes, resembled, together with the fair complexion, one of those dolls she had seen in antique shops. If she had dressed in those same voluminous and lace-filled dresses, she wouldn't have been surprised.

«Sarah Liberty Smith, it is a pleasure to meet you,» she said, in a calm and graceful voice, which tended to fade on the vowels, as if caressing them. Isabel didn't know where she'd heard such a voice before, but it added to her impression of her as "a girl from another era". She made that strange greeting again and motioned for her to follow her out of the classroom, entering the corridor, lit by the neon bulbs, since the sunlight had almost completely gone. Winter always gave the girl a feeling of depression. Noticing how her partner moved, making her body sway at every step, making her golden hair to go rhythmically from right to left, she wondered if she wasn't a rich girl.

«Wow, you like to say your full name, huh?» she laughed, bringing her hands behind the back of her neck, a gesture she used to make when she was making fun of someone. She wanted to see how angry she could be.

«I should not?» the other asked, blinking slowly. Isabel laughed at seeing that expression so genuinely worried, thinking she liked that strange girl. She looked like a young lady. The only thing that prevented her from thinking it completely, was her forms and exaggerated height. It was surely taller than Levi, and most likely even taller than Furlan. She wanted to ask her how much she measured, but the voice of her guide stopped her. While explaining how to get to their dormitories, located in the basement of the school, Isabel thought that making friends with such a girl was worth it. From what the teacher had called her, she seemed one of the most significant students.

«Can I call you in another way? I don't like Sarah,» she asked her quite honestly. She didn't like the pronunciation she gave her, and it seemed that not even her owners enjoyed it. The girl just turned her head and looked at her in confusion.

«Do as you please.» she smiled, stretching her lips, not knowing how to behave in such a situation. As long as the new arrival did not call her by her middle name, it was funny having a nickname.

«Sis.» she heard.

«Pardon?»

«Sis. I want to call you Sis,» she explained by lowering her arms and begin walking by her side.

«Well... It's fine... If you want to...» she whispered, not understanding the origin of this name. Did she want to call her "sister" by chance? She shook her head and stopped on the third floor, the one below where they left.

«All right, you will follow the medical course,» she explained her by showing her the long line of classes that extended to their left. She peered at one of the classrooms, and they saw the chemist's equipment. They went through it all, making Isabel understand how the school was structured. The building followed a quadrilateral shape, made up of four corridors, consisting of four floors, plus a fifth underground one, and a central area on the first floor covered by a glass roof, thus giving the possibility to those who were on the other side of the building to see the parallel corridors. Not all four floors seemed to be accessible in the same way. The western part, if you looked at it as you entered, was completely inaccessible from the eastern one.

«Why?» she asked in an angry tone. She didn't want to attend the course to be part of medical support. Although her quirk was only useful for that, she had trained for years to fight, and she had no intention of giving up everything. Sarah sighed, understanding her anger.

«While schools around the world create a single hero course and push students in mixed classes to give their best, here they divide them according to their quirk and make sure that they exploit it to their full potential,» she said, continuing to go down the stairs.

«Mixed class?»

«Classes of both male and female,» she explained. Their school followed a different form of training than the rest of the globe. The girls studied certain aspects of becoming a Pro Hero, learning about their body and their limits, biologically different from those of the opposite sex's students. Even though it was criticized many times by other nations, Sarah had found that system much more pleasant, knowing that male and female bodies had different ways of behaving and experiencing the stress of the preparation.

«And don't they do it here?» Isabel continued as she entered another corridor, this time covered. It was so different from the ones they had done before, bright and spacious thanks to the windows that gave onto the internal "hole" of the building.

«The wing opposite to ours- pointed to the wall to her right -It is dedicated to students between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. This is ours, always in the same age group.» next to them, both from one side to the other, at regular intervals, one could see black numbered doors, and, behind them, hear a lively chatter of girls. Realizing it was the dormitories, she sensed that she would sleep with other females.

«That sucks, I can not see Levi-bro and Furlan,» she complained, as she had never done it before. She had been living with two boys for years and had completely forgotten what it was like to be in the same room with a person of the same sex.

«The hours we share are those after school hours, in the free courtyard and during breaks to eat,» Sarah said with a sigh.

«When?»

«You wake up at a quarter to seven, and you can eat from seven to seven and a half. Classes go from eight to one, and then there is the lunch break. From three to seven in the evening there is the training, and then, at eight, there is dinner. By ten o'clock you have to stay in bed and turn everything off.» Isabel hunched her back forward, almost carrying her body with enormous effort.

«A fucking reformatory...» he complained softly. Sarah laughed with a hand in front of her mouth.

«More or less. Ah, it is not possible to use such a language in front of teachers. How old are you?» he asked, stopping suddenly and turning to the redhead.

«Sixteen,» she replied. She would make them in a few months, but she didn't want to seem smaller than she might have looked at her.

«Interesting...» she whispered, knocking on the door in front of her, decorated with a large, white "24".

«What?»

«Nothing. Come in,» said once the door opened. Inside, the atmosphere was welcoming. If the whole school had a modern and technological style, the one around them gave the impression of having been taken from a teen film, with the colors of the walls and the blankets of a honey yellow. In front of them, on the opposite side of the room, there were three desks of a colorful caramel, with associated black chairs. Both on their right and left, two bunk beds could be found, a sign that there were four girls per room. In the center of the room, above a small round yellow carpet, a low table was laden with books. Around it, two girls played cards.

«Can we come in?» asked the girl next to her, stepping into the room.

«Ah, Sarah, here you are.» said one of the two, who remembered having seen her a little while ago in class, in the row next to Sarah's. From under the flaming red hair, slightly brighter than Isabel's, two dog's ears of the same color were sticking out, from which, in the right one, a silver ring earring hung. When she turned, she stabbed her with her emerald green eyes, finding herself staring at a much masculine Isabel. If it weren't for the rule of separate males and females, she would have said it was a boy. The "Isabel" got up and came towards them, moving her tawny tail from side to side, like a happy little dog. She wore only the shirt of the uniform, with the sleeves, rolled up to the muscular forearms, and unbuttoned of the two upper buttons, and the plaid skirt. She saw that the girl had hung her jacket on the bed frame, along with the dark tie. Her arms and legs were covered with bruises, scratches, and many freckles, and on the right limb, she saw a white patch emerge, the same as the one on the eyebrow. She swallowed to see her so close. She noticed how, despite being decidedly taller than her, she was also shorter than Sarah. The idea of asking how tall she was made her way back into her head.

«I have a new adventure companion,» explained her guide by pointing to Isabel with a quick nod. The girl smiled amused, showing a pair of well-pointed canines, and looked at her from head to toe, interested.

«Hi...» Isabel whispered as she felt her companion's gaze. When she sensed her smelling her, she hid slightly behind Sarah. That individual frightened her, despite having always preferred the company of animals to that of people. She had no idea what that being was, so similar to a fox.

«Hello,» she replied, ruffling her hair, which reminded her of Levi. She wondered where he was now. She hadn't seen him for two days, or since they had been captured, and she had had the pleasure of hearing his voice only a short time before, on the truck that had escorted them here. She had managed to speak to Furlan earlier, who had explained her the plan to become a Hero, but, although she had liked to see her friend again, she missed the presence of her Big Brother.

«Would you please prepare the extra bed?» asked the blonde, pointing to the unmade mattress on her right. Isabel peeked from behind the new roommate and stared at the second student. More than an adolescent, they looked like an adult. They had brown hair and, she could understand it even from there, oily, tied in a sloppy pony-tail. They smiled at her, waving their hand while still trying to figure out which card throw. They wore a long, white coat over their uniform, similar to a doctor's one. If that aspect had not already led her to think their were a mad scientist, the round metal glasses they had on their nose removed any doubt. "Isabel" leaned against the door jamb and sighed.

«Yup, no probs.» said with a tired tone.

«Then, we'll return here after our tour. Thanks, Scarlett.»

«You're welcome, and congrats for our mission,» she said as she closed the door. Isabel didn't understand what she was referring to, and her guide didn't give her any information.

«Hey, how old are you, Sis?» she tried to resume the conversation.

«Fifteen in April.»

«Holy shit, you don't look like a fifteen-year-old at all!» exclaimed. She realized, however, that she could not be older than her, since they would both attend the first year. Realizing the curse, she blushed.

«Sorry.» she lowered her head, going up the stairs. Sarah shook her head apologetically and took the stairs from which they had come.

«Thank you. So, that's where the infirmary is. It will be your natural environment.» said, opening a room and showing her the inside.

«But why can't I fight?» she asked again as the sliding door closed in front of her.

«These are choices that we cannot foresee. They carefully choose the course based on our quirks,» explained quietly. Their courses were divided into four preparations: The "Front Line Heroes" course, the "Support Heroes" course, the "Medical Team" course and the "Mechanical Support" course. Scarlett and her, together with Levi most likely, attended the "First Line" one, dedicated to the students with the most potent and suitable quirks for fights. She did not know where Isabel's other friend, Furlan, would go, but the chance that he had been put on for "Support" was high. As for Isabel, the choices were less. The "Mechanical Support" course was not attended there, since there was not enough place for the labs where electronic gadgets were built. They were in a smaller location, called "Legion Gamma" which was located a few kilometers further south and was set up for its accommodation and restaurant. In short, the students of the Gamma were not seen by them. Isabel clenched her fists and stamped one foot on the ground.

«But I want to fight!» she screamed. She had no intention of becoming a Red Cross nurse. Not after all she'd been through. The companion, shocked by that childish attitude, took a half step back. She stared at her and sighed, understanding in part her distress.

«I already told you we do not decide it. However, you will fight, don't worry.» she put a hand on her head, making her turn suddenly.

«Huh?» was all she could say as she moved away from her hand.

«Our motto is: "Give your heart for the salvation of humanity" Gives meaning to our greeting- she showed it to her, knowing that she had to learn it quickly -And the medical team must know how to fight, so one day a week you will have the opportunity to participate in our training.»

«Now we are talking!» the redhead enthusiastically jumped. Sarah smiled at her ambition.

«The indoor gyms, along with the changing rooms, are out of here, so cover yourself well, or you will get a cold. You will find there the suits for common workouts,» she explained by pulling lightly on the beige collar of her jacket. As they crossed the corridor, Isabel saw, from a window inside one of the classrooms, a fully illuminated stadium. It was large and elongated, and reminded her of the snow glasses they sold at newsstands.

«Cool,» she whispered, approaching the window and admiring it.

«That's the Dome,» Sarah told her that, not seeing her behind her anymore, had followed her.

«Do you fight there?» she asked with bright eyes.

«We do more than just fight. Its real name is: "Indoor Gym for Combat Simulations", but we simply call it Dome.» she explained as she watched her press her face against the transparent surface. The urge to pull her off and wash the glass was huge, but she had to hold it back. She just needed him to not see her manic side before twenty-four hours.

«And did you do there, then?» Isabel continued, increasingly interested in that school.

«We fought in different reconstructed scenes. In destroyed or intact cities, in dense woods or the mountains. Every Hero school has it. Ours is particular, but not like the Japanese or American ones.» Sarah said, crossing her arms over her chest. She felt the bandages tighten, and the wounds below hurt.

«So fucking cool!» the girl next to her shouted. She smiled and touched her shoulder, making her turn.

«Come on. I'll show you the restaurant,» she said, leaving the classroom.

«Wow! How beautiful!» was all Isabel had to say when she saw it. It was the room located under the glass roof that could be seen from almost every corner of the school. It was large, with about fifty tables and the attached round benches, all at the same distance from each other. On the opposite side of the entrance, it was possible to see the kitchen, where they were now preparing dinner. She smelled the strong smell of rice, and a tremendous rumbling rose from her stomach. That background, so clean and bright, was not even remotely comparable to that of Unterwelt, where she had, although, found herself great. The Villains had been nice to her, even when she left. Since her quirk was curative, they had put her in a common cell and she spent her only night in there listening to the stories of her companions. She wondered if she would ever meet them, but from what she had managed to say to Levi, it seems that from there they did not come out.

«From there you will find the library. You cannot borrow books, but you can consult them for as long as you want.» she woke her from her thoughts, pointing to an adjacent room.

«Hmm... This place sure is big...» Isabel whispered, realizing how many streets, classrooms, and stairs were contained in that building. She sighed vigorously, thinking that she would be lost in no time. It took her a long time to learn how to move to a new context.

«Don't worry. There are signs around, you won't get lost. And, of course, you can always ask someone. Remember that the green walls are those of the male rooms, and the yellow ones are the ones for us. If the walls are blue or white, then they are common areas. If you get caught in areas of the opposite sex, you're in trouble.» she said, pointing to the wall in front of them. The candid color indicated the presence of both genders.

«How many troubles?» she smiled amused, wanting to know what risk she ran if she ever wanted to meet her two friends.

«It depends on what you were doing.» she winked. Both laughed, blushing. While recovering from that unexpected behavior, Isabel wondered how the first five hours of school were.

«What do we do as a school?» she asked. She knew that some help, perhaps a tutor, would be great. She could barely write and read, not to mention her disastrous mathematical skills.

«We learn languages, math, and a bit of biology, as well as geography and history. Everyone has different lessons depending on the course. I guess you will have chemistry instead of philosophy.»

«O come on...»

«I know, but we have to resist.»

«Just four years of this shit?»

«Yup. Welcome to the Legion.» she made a small bow. Both burst out laughing under the confused gaze of some students nearby. They decided to go back to their room, since she had to change it to go to dinner. Admittedly, Isabel still wore the clothes she had been captured with, kindly returned from the prison after they had released her. Passing in front of the main entrance, Isabel stopped.

«Sorry, what are these?» she stopped her mate, who came back to see what she meant. She saw her pointing out the three draperies hanging above them. Sarah smiled as she entered the room and positioned herself in front of them.

«After the third year, you choose which Corps you want to go to, and you will take a particular course depending on your choice,» she explained once that the redhead had joined her. They were the representation of three shields, similar to those worn on the uniform. The only difference was the inside design. While that of the school represented two crossed swords, those three had much more beautiful logos.

«The Military Police Brigade. Only the best students can go there. They deal with Unterwelt and its supervision. These are the well-known "upstairs".» she began to explain them by pointing to the leftmost one among the three. A unicorn profile, all green except for the white horn, shook Isabel. It was a very childish symbol for Heroes.

«The Garrison, or the Vigilantes, are not one hundred percent Hero, but they deal with the normal administration of the city, rescuing civilians and trying to stop the less dangerous Villains. Those who are part of the "Support" course usually go here.» she continued, showing her the second in the center. Isabel recognized it, remembering it on the black uniforms of the Vigilantes. The red color of the roses reminded her why she was there.

«And then there is the Survey Corps, which deals with capturing the most dangerous Villains and bringing them to Unterwelt. I want to enter here.» the guide concluded by remaining still and staring at the last banner. The two wings, one white and one blue, were imprinted in all the girl's memories. Heroes entering one of those branches had to have the logs of that one on their costumes. It didn't matter where it had to be it had to be easily recognizable by civilians. She remembered her father's green mantle, with the large draw printed on top. She had played with it since childhood, pretending to be a superheroine herself. She was about to make that dream come true, she thought. Isabel stared at her profile, wondering what she was thinking.

«The Pro Heroes are all-» she tried to resume the conversation, but Sarah cut her off.

«Almost everyone here. My father is currently number one and is in charge of managing the Survey Corps. I want to become it too, someday.» she said dreamily. Isabel was amazed. Was Pro Hero Heil 's daughter right next to her? And had she guided her? And would they sleep together? She felt worthless for a few minutes, thinking that they had given her too much trust. Thinking back to Scarlett, the fox girl, she thought that possibly she would keep her eyes on her all the time. She said to herself that she could not waste this possibility. Now she could finally live decently. To hell Levi and Furlan's plan, she thought, she wouldn't have harmed a hair to her. She turned to watch her play with her uniform while still staring at the sheets with immense respect. That why Isabel felt that feeling of "luxury". She thought that a bigger fortune could not have happened to her. Suddenly, she remembered that, whenever they heard him mentioned, Levi always said that if he had been among the Heroes, the place would have been immediately his. Although it had been taken as a joke by her and Furlan at the time, now that he had the chance, she was sure he still wanted to beat him.

«The number one... I have the feeling that the Big Brother also wants to become it,» she said, following her towards the dormitories.

«He'll have to give it all because I'm not going to let him take it so smoothly.» the other puffed without stopping to walk, understanding she was talking about Levi. Isabel laughed.

«There will be many nice surprises between you and him, I feel it,» she confessed, hopping beside her.

«What do you mean?»

«You will see it, Sis, you will see it.» she smiled happily.


	4. ⋌4.I⋋

While a student accompanied Isabel on the school tour, Levi and Furlan, for obvious security reasons, had been escorted by their Coordinator, Keith Shadis. Although not all of them followed the same practical preparation courses, all students of the same year had the same theoretically classes. The two boys, now adults, had been annoyed to know that they would be in class with teenagers, but it had not been possible to do otherwise given their very little knowledge. When they returned to their room, Levi immediately started complaining.

«At least it's clean, right?» his friend pointed out to him by showing him the room. Indeed, although it was underground, there was nothing that could remember him about it, except for the total absence of windows. The walls were immaculate, as if they had just painted them. And the environment was considerable, not asphyxiating nor claustrophobic.

«Tch, if you want to see it like that...» he grunted, checking to see if it was. He took a towel and checked behind the bunk beds. Furlan sighed and sat down on one of the two couches. When he saw, out of the corner of his eye, a figure enter the room, he jumped up.

«Ah!» he shouted, making his friend turn around. In front of the door, a boy wearing only the pants of his uniform had just appeared. He wiped his black hair with a white towel while he looked at them confusedly. He was tall and surprisingly muscular, having regard by the abdominals he showed toned under his olive skin still wet, possibly due to the shower he had just taken. They did not have a bathroom in the room, and they had to use the one in the community, also equipped with showers.

He must have been one of the components of the "First Line" course, doubt confirmed by the scars on the arms and the long one on the jaw, which delimited the profile and greatly contrasted the face strewn with some stretches of acne, giving it a false impression of maturity.

«Ackerman and Church, right?» he said, closing the door behind him and placing the towel around his neck. He threw his shirt and what looked like a tie onto the above mattress of the bunk bed. He neared, a sly smirk on his face and his hand extended. His voice had something strange, as if it had nothing to do with the atmosphere around them.

«Who are you?» Furlan asked him, holding it tightly, still shocked.

«My name is Connar Duman. We will be classmates, apparently,» he said, running a hand through his wet hair. Furlan was part, as Sarah had thought, of the "Support." He wasn't very interested in it, to be honest: At least he wouldn't be beaten like his friend, part of the "First Line" instead.

«Connar? What's that, an alternative version of Connor?» the blond laughed, crossing his hands.

«Then what the hell is Furlan?» the young man answered, raising an eyebrow. The boy stared at him and laughed.

«You won.» he raised his hands to the ceiling in surrender.

«The hell you want?» Levi asked without looking at him.

«You are in my room...» he looked at the place, confused. The older one shrugged.

«So?»

«Usually, I introduce myself to new people. What the hell, you Berliners are unbearable...» he snorted, starting to dry his hair again, putting a hand on his hips and looking at them with an annoyed expression.

«You are not from Berlin?» Furlan asked. The boy burned him offended, as if calling him from the capital was a grave aberration for him.

«Absolutely not. I was born in Anklam. Can't you hear it from my accent?» he said, smirking and pointing at his lips with his thumb. Seeing the confused faces of the two boys, the corners of his mouth turned violently downwards.

«You have no idea of what I'm talking about, don't 'cha?» he asked.

«Of course.» Furlan lied, also acting offended. The young man rolled his eyes, exhaling.

«Right... Anyway, why you come in later? Scholarships?» he asked as he sat down on the chair that Levi had moved so he could see if it was dirty under the desk.

«Cut the crap, you're the one who caught Isabel,» he said, coming out from under the table and wiping his hands with the tissue. He had understood the expression of his friend: "It comes from outside." She meant his backwoods accent. Furlan's eyes widened at that information.

«Oh, then you are her "bros." You have a mighty friend, you know.» he raised his chin, dropping the act. The blonde looked at him with a hint of hatred.

«How fucking old are you?» he asked, approaching him. Connar raised one finger of his right hand and four of his left hand.

«Bring us some respect, then.» Levi criticized him. He could not bear that a boy four years younger than them could treat them like this.

«And why on earth? Here you have to earn respect with high grades and victories in the practical tests,» he explained with a shrug and lying on the chair. He looked him up and down, irritated by his presence. His shameless way of speaking was driving him crazy.

«Or we could take it by fucking breaking your goddamn head,» he said, progressing. The boy laughed, looking up at the major.

«Try to catch me.» he smiled, staring at him with his light green eyes. Before Levi could even activate his quirk, the boy had disappeared from underneath him. On his seat, only the wet towel remained.

«What the-» he started to say, but a push made him fall. He turned on his aching back, raising his torso and holding onto his elbows. Connar stared at him with an arm raised, a sign that he had pushed him. He gazed at him delighted, as if he were mocking him.

«My quirk is called: "100% Agility". I leave you the pleasure of understanding why.» answered, sitting on the bed at the same unbelievable speed.

«So cool...» Furlan whispered, helping her friend to get up. Levi felt the injury hurt again. He hoped it would open, at least he would have a reason to punch him. Touching his back, he realized that was not the case, since it had hit him quite gently. Whether luckily or not, it was all a point of view.

«I already know yours, don't worry. So, Levi, what were you saying?» he continued, swinging his long legs and without losing that sassy look.

«If you hit me again, I will destroy you.» he gritted his teeth.

«I want to see you do it- he laughed slightly -Goblin.»

«I kill you.» he stared at him, glaring slight and clenching his fists to make his knuckles stand out, white under the skin.

«Levi!» his friend stopped him. They couldn't get in trouble the first night already. It was worth their life.

«Like I said, you have to catch me first.» said the roommate. They stared at each other for a while, like two animals fighting over the territory. Connar was decidedly more tenacious than his youthful face could show. Levi thought that he was not yet like that at that age. He felt a little envious, imagining that a little bit of all those students had to be so mature. When Connar turned his head to yawn, Levi saw a patch between the shoulder, of the type for muscle tears. He imagined that it must have been there for a few, as the edges had started to lift.

«See, Ackerman, this school has a scale of people per year. From the most respectable to the least. You are currently in last place. Do you want to know who is at first?» he gave him a sleepy look, scratching the scar. He was tired from the training of a few hours earlier.

«I don't give a d-»

«Sarah Liberty Smith.» he interrupted him. Levi stood still mulling over this name. Liberty, his torturer, his pseudonym Sarah and the surname of one of the two policemen who had interrogated him were side by side.

«The brat...» whispered. Connar quickly jumped down and took his shirt next to him.

«She's the daughter of Heil and one of the best students in the school. She's the most respected of the first year,» she informed him proudly, as if it were his girlfriend. Levi thought it was not possible that the "Number One" had examined him. Suddenly the policeman's and Hero's voices combined. How had he not understood it before? A shot made them turn to the door, and Connar took a can from one of the desk drawers. Of what they were unable to understand.

«If you want to aim for it, you should become less aggressive. Advice from a friend,» he said, walking past him and opening the door. In the doorway, two boys, still dressed in their school uniforms, held one a box the other some writings.

«Duman, will you be there this Saturday?» said the one with the papers. He had hair of a strange greenish color, and his eyes had no pupils. Furlan and Levi shivered at his husky voice.

«Is it already the twenty-sixth?» their roommate scratched the back of his neck. The green-haired boy hit his forehead with the sheets, despite the noticeable height difference. The two new arrivals understood that he must be an older student. Not only because of the attitude, but also because instead of the red tie they had seen put away to their partner, he had a brownish color. The boy next to him also had that color.

«If you didn't always think about Smith, maybe you would remember it.» scolded him smiling with amusement. The companion next to him chuckled.

«Shut up, that's not true!» Connar yelled at him. Even if he was giving them his back, the two could very well say that he was flushing. So he had a crush on Heil's daughter. From how they said, the possibility that she was his girlfriend had taken root in Levi's head by now.

«So?» the one with the box asked him, shaking it slightly. A noise of plastic bags and cans came from the container. Connar turned to his new companions.

«Do you want to come too?» he asked them, pointing to the two boys. Furlan became curious.

«What's-»

«No,» Levi answered immediately. He didn't care what it was, since that Saturday they were supposed to start catching up with the rest of the class's schedule. He didn't know how, to be honest, since it seemed like a lot of stuff from what the head had told them. The thought that Isabel could help them invaded his mind. He had to find a way to meet her.

«Okay. Who am I challenging?» shrugged the younger one and started talking again to the new visitors.

«A certain Double is waiting for you.» the one with the sheets answered him looking at one.

«Tthe third year one? What quirk does he have?»

«"Hands-chains"... Bah.» all three shrugged.

«All right. Thanks nyway guys, take this.» he put the bottle he had recovered before into the carton.

«Next time try to find something better, Duman.» the student scolded him after seeing what it was. Connar smiled, scratching the scar.

«Yeah yeah, don't worry.» he greeted them by closing the door.

«They are..?» Furlan asked curiously once the boy had turned back to them.

«Our "illegal" disputes. They are phenomenal.» answered quickly, putting the shirt in the pants. Levi looked at him carefully.

«Do you do them in here?» he asked, making him laugh.

«Are you stupid? Saturdays and Sundays are our days off. We are in a gym of one of the last year's kids. They have been doing this for years, and each semester changes locations. This time we were lucky because it's a Hero's gym.»

«What would happen if others found out?» Furlan asked as he watched his friend begin to make his bed since the sheets were only on the mattress. Only two out of four beds were ready, a sign that there must have been a fourth roommate. They had no idea where it was, since they had been quite a while in there before Connar arrived.

«You'll die,» she replied without looking at him.

«Uh?»

«You would die before I could say anything. We have excellent defense mechanisms,» explained bouncing the head, messing his hair more than it already was.

«So, this is your bed. The alarm is at six forty-five. Not a minute longer. See you at dinner.» said while fixing the tie. Connar pointed to what Levi had already done and the one above.

«Tch,» Levi replied while also doing Furlan's. Before leaving, the young man turned around.

«Ah, you have to put on your uniform to be able to go around. You find it in there.» noted the two, grabbing the beige jacket and pointing to a small locker next to the desks.

«Thanks,» Furlan said, seeing him go out. As soon as he turned, he saw that his friend had already started to change.

«What do you want to do?» he asked while pulling off his blue shirt. He touched the patch on his shoulder, fearing it would come off.

«I want to kill Heil and his daughter.» the other answered, fixing himself in the thin mirror attached to the door. The bandage reminded him of those two days of hell in prison.

«Uh?»

«They put me here, and I will thank them my way,» he explained by dressing quickly. The uniform consisted of a white shirt with a small embroidery on the front pocket represented a gray shield and two swords crossed above. The trousers, supported by a simple black belt, were beige silk, like the jacket, and had a plaid Scottish-style pattern. The jacket, although it did not have this pattern, was more interesting. The golden shoulder straps were like those of the marine military uniforms, and the golden cufflinks on the wrists gave a pleasing effect. The red tie, then, could be stopped with a simple golden pin. Both thought that all that luxury was exaggerated, since nobody saw them outside of there. As they locked the door, some boys greeted them. Not knowing what to answer, Levi glared at them. Watching them leave with their confused looks, Furlan sighed.

«Levi, could you at least try to be sociable?» he asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. The boy turned to his friend, still glaring.

«No.»


	5. ⋌5.I⋋

«And so you make an equation. Any questions?» Sarah asked, setting down the notebook with the written explanation, observing the three guys. Seeing no reaction, she sighed and opened the textbook.

«Wery well, then. Let's start with the exercises.» he began clapping his hands together in front of her face. While watching them do the exercise, she resumed writing notes on the chapter of German literature assigned to her.

Being a tutor hadn't been her idea, but she couldn't refuse when the professors asked her: she was still the best student of her year, and seeing Isabel so struggling in her first lesson had reminded her of how he was never there, among the Legion benches. Unquestionably, her grandmother would have told her to think only of her studies and not be distracted by certain frivolities, but this time she had not to listen to her. She had had to choose: Ignore the help that those three involuntarily asked for or help them and do a favor to the school to.

Lost in study, she did not notice that they had finished. It was Isabel's movements, eager to know if she had made it or not, that brought her back to reality.

«Well, did you managed to do it?» she asked, putting down the notebook and pointing to Levi, sure he had made it. From what he could understand, Furlan was the most intelligent of them when it came to logic. He was excellent in math and science, as he had to do nothing but apply his high intellect to understand the mechanical nature of these two subjects. Isabel, instead, had very little logic and was, therefore, in trouble in these topics. But she had a great artistic sense, and she liked art history and literature, despite not being able to memorize everything that was required of her, and she was immediately passionate about it. Sarah had wondered how she was going to graduate, since she was going to be some kind of doctor, but had decided to put her trust in her classmates, knowing that she couldn't teach her everything. Someone more experienced was needed for that.

«3x²,» he answered. Levi, on the other hand, was good at practically everything, especially languages. But he had great pride and did not accept the fact that he could have mistaken. Maybe because he was clearly the leader of the trio, or from the fact that he came from where he came from.

«Wrong,» she said almost immediately, showing him the textbook with the result. As expected, Levi did not appreciate that "objection."

«No, it's correct,» he replied, sending a murderous look to the tutor, to which she responded by rolling her eyes. It was not the first time, of course, during the week as a tutor that she had spent with them, that she contradicted him, but this reaction, every time she pointed out his mistakes, was beginning to exhaust her.

«Uhm... The result is correct, but it is not positive,» she explained, tapping the mark in front of the result with her fingernail. The boy stared at her hand. In that short time, Levi realized that he was bothered by so many things about Sarah, and the fact that her hands were so polished was one of them. There was no real reason, but the fact that she thought so much about her physical appearance irritated him. Or maybe it was the fact that the girl could afford it, both for the reason of the time, since Sarah didn't have their problems in studying, and for the economic one. It was evident that she had had a wealthy life, he noted.

«So?» he asked angrily, shaking his head and returning to focus on the girl's cold expression, another thing that annoyed him tremendously. Sarah sighed softly and took a sheet of paper from her notebook.

«The numbers range from zero to infinity. But there are two types of infinity: the positive and the negative. Minus four does not equal to plus four.» she explained by drawing a short line of numbers. The boy rolled his eyes.

«Tch, do what you want.» he snorted, adding that sign to the result. He didn't really understand why he should put it on, but he might as well do as she said.

«Did it come to you too?» the girl changed the subject, turning to the other two. Furlan nodded happily, while his companion looked confused and discouraged at her paper, throwing, from time to time, glances to that of the blond.

«Isabel?» she asked, frightening her.

«Mm... No. Not even closely.» she shook her head vigorously, lamenting. Sarah reached out and pulled the girl's chair close to her with security, amazing Furlan. He turned to his friend, who answered him with a shrug and a look that was saying: "I told you she's strong." Despite her short stature, Isabel weighed, and it was certainly not easy to move her that way.

«Do you struggle with calculations?» the girl's voice woke them from their thoughts. After observing her partner's proceedings, she understood the problem.

«Yup,» she replied, embarrassed. She knew she wasn't good at many things related to school, but math was the worst. The calculations, even the simple ones, made her work much harder than she did during their raids.

«I'll ask the professors, but in the meantime, you can use this,» Sarah reassured her by pulling a small machine out of their folder.

«What's that?» the redhead asked, turning that flat rectangle in her hands. She hit the number keys at random, just to see what they did.

«A calculator. It help with counts,» she replied, showing her how it worked. The girl's eyes lit up.

«Are we in the future?» asked, making Furlan laugh. The tutor's face took on a confused expression.

«Isabel, calculators were invented in the seventeenth century...» she said, perturbing those present. Levi frowned at that phrase: How could Isabel know that such a sophisticated object was so old?

«Are you serious?» the blond asked, momentarily stopping the following expression he was working on.

«They were invented in 1623 by the German Wilhelm Schickard, and then mechanized in 1648. Obviously, they were not even remotely affordable for these,» she explained, waving a hand over the device.

«You know a lot of things.» she laughed, watching it better.

«She likes history way too much.» a new voice joined the group. Those present turned, and the two boys recognized their roommate approaching happy the table.

«What's up?» Connar asked cheerfully, running a hand through his hair and smiling amused. Isabel stared at the individual, wondering where she had heard that voice before. She admitted, to her surprise, that he was indeed an attractive boy. She was hit by the enormous stature, the wavy and untidy hair, the olive and shiny skin, and the pale green eyes, similar to pieces of colored glass. She blushed a little when he gave her a wide smile.

«Morning, Connar. Everything is fine, as you can see.» Sarah greeted him, holding up her textbook. Connar moved a little closer to get a better look at what it was.

«Good to know.» he smiled again. After placing the folder on the chair near his classmate, he walked away to the bookshelves behind him. Sarah stared at him for a few seconds and stood up.

«Careful of the exponent. Connar, do you know where Scarlett is?» she asked, following him after taking a last glance at her partner's paper. The boy took a book under the "Philosophy" section and began to leaf through it.

«She was in charge,» he answered simply, intending the weekly rounds, which took place during those two weekdays, when they had to take care of the cleaning of the dormitories. Sarah frowned in confusion.

«Weird, I didn't remember we were already at S. I have to do it next week, then,» she said mostly to herself. The boy shook his head.

«There is no need. Since you are a tutor, I think you're free to not do it,» he said, glancing at her and taking the book she was passing him. Since they were both in first class, she understood he was looking for something related to Greek philosophy.

«I would never turn down the chance to clean, you know.» she smiled faintly, reminding him of her obsession with cleanliness and order. The boy apologized with a smile as well and added a third book to the pile. She stared at him for a while, noticing a bruise on the back of his neck that wasn't there on Friday, before he enjoyed her forty-eight hours of freedom. She went to the collar of his shirt and fixed the knot of his tie that had loosened. This made his companion blush violently, who tried not to make it clear that she was putting him in a pleasant discomfort.

«Connar, I know you've been there,» she whispered in an icy tone, sending him an equally glacial look. The boy swallowed with difficulty.

«What a-are you referring to?» he laughed nervously, terrified that she might know about it. He had tried to cover the wounds he had made well, hoping she would take them for those of training.

«Do not play dumb with me. You know what I mean.» pulled the flap of cloth more, bringing the companion's face close to hers at such a level that his rebellious tufts tickled her forehead.

«If I catch you leaving the Legion for this futile reason againI'll kill you. You are one of the best students. Make sure you don't get expelled.» she ordered in a deep voice. Connar might have seemed stupid and superficial, but he really was one of the best students in school. He was still fourteen, and yet he had a higher level of knowledge of his quirk than some fourth-year boys. Not to mention his academic performance, which was truly impressive.

«Y-Yes, ma'am!» he answered, his face completely red. He tried to pull away, but the grip still hadn't decreased around his tie.

«One more thing.»

«Y-Yeah?» he stuttered, seeing her approaching in a dangerously sensual way.

"What the fuck is going on?" the three newcomers wondered, seeing them so close. There was a tension between those two, given mostly by Connar's blush, who they thought were going to kiss or worse. And to Levi, it bothered even more of all. He wouldn't let those two make out, had he had to separate them himself. They were there for his upbringing, not to do mushy sweetheart things.

«Help these two poor souls. They're already in the same apartment with you, and if you don't teach them anything, we're really cocked up.» concluded, letting him go. All four of them sighed, some for different reasons.

«Why are you so mean to me?» he groaned with a sigh, scratching his hot cheeks and cursing himself for looking so vulnerable in front of three former criminals.

«I'm not. It is all about being objective,» replied, sitting down again and freeing the space in front of the classmate's chair from her books. As he took his seat, the girl breathed.

«Ackerman, don't look at me like that,» she ordered without looking at him.

«I look at you in the way I fucking like,» he answered, a little embarrassed for not having noticed that he was still glaring at her.

«I already apologized to you. And honestly, I'm sorry about the injury.» Sarah moved her bored eyes to her left, avoiding even more to meet the furious ones of her mate.

«You pierced my fucking kidney.» he got up and clapped his hands on the table, irritated by the cold attitude she was giving him. Sarah did not flinch.

«Almost, and then I have to remind you that you tried to stab me in the shoulder?» she tourned at him slowly, looking him up and down and raising an eyebrow. Furlan tried to make his friend sit by pulling his shirt, having noticed that the other students in the library had begun to look at them. With a brusque gesture, Levi made him let go and walked over to his companion's chair.

«You gave me no alternative.» he hissed, approaching her face. The girl stood up, and supported by her height, stared at him with her eyes now reduced to two slits with anger.

«You knew I was younger than you. There was an alternative, oh, if there was.» Sarah hit his chest with a finger, letting him know that she knew those seconds he had hesitated before attacking her, he had used to identify her. This revelation aroused a strange sense of confusion in the boy, which he masked well with anger. Connar stood up, ready to part them, in case he jumped on her, and judging by the adrenaline-pumping that was making his legs shaking, it seemed very possible.

«Don't-»

«Sarah!» a voice stopped him. Before she could turn around, a figure grabbed around her neck and leaped onto her back, nearly knocking her over.

«Hange, for Diana's sake, what do you want?» she scolded them, making them get out and turned to look at the friend.

Hange Zoë, Sarah and Isabel's second roommate, was a third-year student of the "Medical Team" course. Joining three years after everyone else, they were, without a doubt, the Legion's oldest student. And the other students treated them with respect also because of this age gaps. Even if their strange behavior, exaggerated and unpredictable, made them a difficult person to understand and approach.

«Next week: You instead of Raidz,» they explained, stroking her head.

«Perfect.» the younger responded, sitting down again and observing her companion take a seat next to her, thus distancing the student from the boy and from any possible future attacks.

«What are you doing?» they asked, looking at Levi's paper, curious about what the school tutoring project that had given so much to think to their partner. The boy moved the notebook, preventing them from looking at anything else.

«Math, hopefully.» she sent him a stern look, to which he replied by gritting his teeth.

«Ah, what a lovely atmosphere.» laughed Hange. Seeing them struggling with what they too had found incomprehensible at the time, moved them a little.   
Maybe more out of spite, Furlan stole the calculator from his friend, exchanging it for the pen he had previously in his hand. The transition, which took place in a few seconds in a small flurry of yellowish sparks, surprised Hange more than positively.

«Oh, but this? What kind of quirk is it?» asked, standing up and approaching the boy.

«S-Switch.» he stammered as he saw them writing down everything they had just seen in a small hardcover notebook.

«And how does it work?»

«I can swap the position of an object with the one I have in my hand.»

«It has limits?»

«Hange. They'd be studying, in theory.» Sarah grabbed them by the shirt and pulled them away, making them sit up again.

«But Sarah, this is great!» said excitedly, pointing with the pen Furlan, who smiled flustered.

«Hush. We are in the library.» Sarah hit their head with a light blow. Even though it was Sunday, many students had decided to take advantage of the total absence of lessons to catch up with their studies. Not everyone had a place to go on weekends, and therefore just over half of the Legion enlivened those usually calm days.

«So, what its name was again?» the student leaned over the table, so excited to discover new quirks. It was their passion, and wanted to be a Researcher once they joined the Survey Corps. They had always thought that brand-new powers could be created, but it was their desire to find out how.

«Hange.» the companion scolded them again. Isabel, caught up in that little confusion, remembered that she had no idea what kind of quirk her roommates, except Scarlett, had.

«Ah, right, what quirk do you have, Sis?» she asked with shining eyes. Connar laughed to see her so excited.

«You do not know? Didn't you show it to them?» he said, turning to the person involved. He couldn't believe that the student with the most potent quirk in the Legion hadn't "introduced" herself to the newcomers in that sense yet. At least, not the other two. He deduced it from the snort of Levi that he had already seen her in action.

«And when? I don't go around using it.» she apologized, curling a lock of her hair and blushing. Connar didn't know if it was a way to scold him again for going to those meetings.

«Can I, Sis?» she asked again with her eyes so bright that they looked like Christmas balls.

«Do you promise to do all the exercises after?» she looked at her with superiority, pointing to the notebook with only two completed exercises.

«I promise!» she cried happily. Furlan also put his homework aside and focused on the demonstration.

«Hange,» she said simply, reaching out a hand.

«Here.» smiled the oldest, taking out of the pocket of their long skirt a sack of sugar that were given in the morning to put it in tea. They always carried some with them, in case someone had a hypo.

«My quirk is called Crystal Compression. I'm not good with names.» she apologized immediately, waving the bag. She had intended to change it, but she really couldn't think of anything else.

«And..?» Isabel requested her to continue, more and more curious.

«Thanks to the small vibrations I emit hitting a surface, I can locate the microcrystals present in the environments,» she said, putting a fair amount on the palm of her hand. After the quantity had satisfied her, she gave a small blow to the limb, closing her eyes to concentrate better. When she opened them, she placed the second hand over the first, applying light pressure.

«Once identified, I manipulate them, multiplying and uniting them to...» she voluntarily left the sentence hanging, preferring to show them what was going to happen. She lifted the "lid" and discovered a small seed. It wasn't so big, maybe like an eraser, and it wasn't that good either. It was the fact that it began to open that left everyone stunned.

«Woah!» Isabel covered her mouth as she admired the show. By now, the bud had totally turned into a beautiful white rose, with slightly opaque petals due to the glucose.

"Wow!" Levi found himself thinking. He didn't believe she could do something like that. It is true, he had seen her in action, but now that she had explained it to him, he had broadly understood what had happened that morning.

«What the..?» whispered.

«The sugar, or sucrose, can also be found in crystal form. Not in nature, but it does the same. This applies to other types of food, such as salt.» she concluded, leaving the rose in the hands of an increasingly amazed Isabel that began to study that piece of art. Its creator began to play with the grains that fell on the table.

«And you can do anything you want?» Furlan asked, making her smile.

«I can do a lot less than you think,» she explained to him, making him more confused.

«Uh?»

«For now, I'm learning how to make my surfaces smooth,» she explained simply by running a finger over the petals, letting them know that their polygonal shape did not satisfy her. She leaned awkwardly back in her chair and rearranged all the granules, bringing them with one finger into a pile in front of her.

«So cool,» Isabel whispered, looking from the sculpture to the owner several times, still incredulous that she could have such complex power. Levi watched her clean the table, unable to understand how she got it.

«Heil does not have this power...» he whispered without realizing it. Sarah sighed sadly.

«No. My father has a completely different power,» she answered, looking him straight in the eye. The boy frowned. Something was not right.

«But then-»

«I got this from my mother.» interrupted him. Connar and Hange looked away from the scene, as if embarrassed by this response.

«Your mother?»

«A long bloodline of crystals manipulators,» she said, pressing the granules she had collected with her finger.

«And how strong is she?» continued. Levi totally ignored about this power and didn't know why. It was too strong for not have belonged to anyone before. Was her mother a former Hero?

«I have no idea,» she answered coldly. Connar reached an open hand under his chin and made a quick motion as if to cut it, signaling him not to proceed further.

«And why?» Levi ignored him, causing him to slap his hand on his forehead. Without looking at anyone, Sarah took a breath and continued.

«Because my mother passed away fourteen years ago,» she said, creating a small and sharp spike that came out violently from under her nail and went to point to an undefined point in front of her. Levi stared at it, not knowing what to say.


	6. ⋌6.I⋋

From the windows on the top floor of the building, Erwin watched the students come back to school from the weekend like ants returning to the anthill. He stood there, his arms crossed over his chest, and his eyes serious, remembering how he had lived those years. He was interested to know how his daughter was, but he still hadn't found the strength to talk to her after the mission. They had had an ardent argument, and it had ended with Liberty refusing to accept that three criminals were part of her school. She seemed to have mellowed on that side, as she was now tutoring them, but he couldn't let their relationship hang like this.

«Sarah improves day by day.» the headmaster's voice burst into his thoughts. Erwin spun around, taking a few steps away from the glass. Director Zackly still looked the same as when Erwin had met him, but with only a few more wrinkles and gray hair. His eyes were sunken and tired, protected by round glasses, scrutinized him carefully. Although he wore his long hair neatly back, his long beard gave him an unkempt look.

«But I guess that's not enough, or am I wrong?» Erwin asked, thus demanding why he had called him into that study. A room exactly furnished as one would have imagined it, with a large desk placed on the side of the room, opposite the window, and the various honors behind it.

«Totally the opposite. I called you here for the newcomers, to tell the truth,» he explained as he watched the Hero take its place.

«Church and Magnolia struggle a lot, but they learn fast and socialized well with their classmates,» he explained, interlacing his hands in front of him.

«But..?» urged him to continue. Considerable concern was beginning to rise in him. Had something happened with the third one? Since they were of age, they didn't need a legal guardian, at least not the two boys, but he'd still taken responsibility for whatever damage they'd caused the school.

«Ackerman worries me,» he explained simply, adjusting his glasses and staring at the window behind him.

«Are you sure it's a good idea to let your daughter tutor him?» he asked him. He knew that Erwin had now received the news. He had asked many students, but only she had accepted. And that hadn't shaken the father in the least, well aware of his daughter's stubbornness.

«I want to see if she can do it,» he answered in a not entirely honest way.

«Who?»

«Liberty.»

«You could test her in other ways. If anything happens to those two-»

«I said I'll take all the responsibility.» interrupted him. He did not want to repeat this conversation.

«Tell that to the government.» the elder snorted rather elegantly. They both got up, and Zackly started walking towards the door. As soon as he put his hand on the handle, the tall figure of the guest stopped him. Erwin had again approached the window and had begun to observe the students. This time he had seen what he was looking for. The speedy figure of her daughter peeked out among the other scholars, moving quickly around the large kitchen, as if to cut the path from the library to the dorms. A gesture that he too had made when he had found himself spending more time between books than he was allowed by the timetable.

«If anything happens, call me immediately,» he stated, joining the headmaster again and following him out of the study.

＊＊＊

«This lesson was the most embarrassing of the week,» Sarah growled through gritted teeth. She couldn't believe she'd just revealed such a personal detail to three complete strangers. There was nothing so special, but it bothered her. Why had she done it then?

«I imagined,» Hange said, following her down the underground corridor.

«I'm sorry for Levi-bro. I don't know why he did it.» Isabel apologized, unusually embarrassed. It was the first time she was ashamed of something her friends did. But Sarah's presence had really helped her, and she couldn't agree with Levi. Not this time, at least.

«Because he sees Sarah as a menace.» the older one explained to her.

«In which sense as a "menace"?»

«In the sense that Sarah's strong sense of duty makes her a natural leader, so two heads who clash in a common territory just fight.» they clarified. Isabel thought about it for a while. It made sense, after all.

«And speaking of the territory.» Hange always said when Sarah turned on the light in their room. All three were stopped by the blanket and pillow construction that had appeared in place of Scarlett's bed. It seemed to be built with a specified criterion, well showing the circular sense it was going to create. From the central hole, a tuft of reddish hair appeared, anticipating what they would find inside.

«What is this thing?!» Isabel shrieked, covering her nose with her hands. A strong smell, almost like that of a dog, had invaded the place. Sarah activated the fan to change the air with the convenient switch, and the sound of the propellers made the pile move.

«Scarlett?» Sarah asked as she approached. Something moved faster, and, soon, a face came out of the sheets.

«Hey. Why so late?» Scarlett asked in a sleepy tone, with her ears lowered all the way back, more annoyed than ever by the hum and the light.

«We have had some slowdowns,» they explained to her as they put the folder down. Sarah had been away all day, so that new "shelter" was a surprise for her too. This, however, did not upset her that much. Isabel moved closer to her face and peered at her carefully.

«What the...- she felt the stern gaze of her partner -hell have you done?» she corrected herself in a flash.

«I'm nesting,» she explained calmly, as if that were completely normal. Isabel blinked in shock.

«And why on earth?»

«Because I'm in the time of mating.»

«Huh?» she only said. She understood nothing of what she was saying to her, but noticed her companion's bare shoulders and wondered, blushing, how undressed she was. Seeing the reddish tone, Sarah grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her out.

«Come on, let's leave her alone. Do you want anything?» she asked before closing the door. The girl didn't answer, curling back into her pile of sheets, letting her know she didn't want to be disturbed any further.

«Scarlett will be okay?» the redhead asked once her friend had joined them at the base of the stairs.

«Her quirk is called "Fox."» she explained simply, starting to ascend.

«She's basically a fox with human intelligence.» the elder explained better.

«So... Is she acting like a real fox?»

«Exactly. I had forgotten that the mating season was now beginning.» Sarah seemed genuinely concerned for her friend. Her tutoring task had totally distracted her from what was going on around her.

«She will be unmanageable until the end of February.» the other said, annoyed.

«Hopefully, it is only until the end of February.»

«Foxes are unpredictable animals. And Scarlett alone is, so let's double the dose.» Hange sighed, laughing shortly after.

«But I love to see her quirk manifest. I had never seen such a complex mutant,» explained, moving the metal glasses over the head, revealing their shining eyes. Isabel laughed at seeing they again so exalted by someone's strangeness.

«I think she is part of the transformists group.» the other corrected them thoughtfully. What they meant was the typology of the quirk, of which there were three main ones.

"Emission" quirks, like Crystal Compression, Preflex, and Switch. They were the majority and were above all, as the word said, active powers. Hence they did not manifest themselves without the specific will of the owner, and sometimes this required great concentration on their part. Those who were members of it mainly had powers that could create something, like Sarah's crystal, or alter reality or space within certain limits, like Switch.

"Transformation" quirks allowed the wearer to temporarily modify their body to obtain physical enhancement or additional abilities. There were, of course, some exceptions, but the alterations that were usually due to this type of quirk only interested the owners.

And finally, there were the powers of the "mutant" category. Unlike the emission and transformation quirks, these ones were of the passive-active type, amplifying or altering the functions and abilities of an organism and, precisely for this reason, capable of bodily mutations much greater than the other types. It was clear that the owners of these quirks were the most easily recognizable. She did not know much, as she had never known any of them so well to understand their strangeness. She grasped, however, that leading the control of these skills required comprehensive and intense training, as they were capable of bringing immense problems or discomfort to their owners. And that was what was happening to Scarlett, Isabel noted.

«Nah, I say she's a mutant.» the eldest shook the head, accidentally dropping their glasses back onto their nose. In addition to these three main categories, powers were grouped in other rankings. It was not clear how many existed, but one example was Levi's sensitive powers, which allowed him to understand an alternate version of reality, or the healing powers of which hers was a part. Sometimes the same categories had different types, so it only confused more.

«We should ask Meyer.» sighed the blonde, scratching her neck. Isabel didn't understand who she was talking about.

«Who?»

«A ten-grade boy, a bit like Scarlett.» she clarified.

«Except he's a lovely kitten,» added Hange, laughing. The range of quirk types that the school contained was dizzying. Each student was unique and incomparable, capable of things that only they knew and could do. This was because the scholars learned to use them already during elementary school, and gave the possibility to study and choose these powers, even before joining the Legion. Isabel had discovered, through her classmates, that to be part of this prestigious high school, the learners had to take a practical test. It consisted of three exercises that had as their purpose to understand if these guys could really become Heroes or at least be part of the heroic system. She didn't know accurately what type of evidence was, but one was for heroism, one for strength, and one for logic, but she and her two friends had proven their skills in the field, so they hadn't done any of them.

As they walked through the corridors, meeting many groups of guys, also headed for the cafeteria, Isabel saw a massive figure out of the corner of her eye.

«Look,» she said to the two companions, stopping. At the entrance to the institute, a gentleman was talking to the principal. Given the long-distance, Isabel could only tell that it was a young gentleman, and that he had a dominant presence there, standing next to Director Zachary, with his blond hair kept neatly parted on the left side.

«Heil.» jumped on Hange. Isabel looked from the student to the Hero instantly. She hadn't recognized him. It was good, after all. The last time she saw him, he was dressed in his Hero costume. It was not expressly exciting, similar to that of a noble soldier of the eighteenth century, with all colors more or less green and beige, but it gave him a heroic aspect, and, therefore, it did its job. Or so Isabel thought. Now he was elegantly dressed in a blue suit over the white shirt, and the jacket folded gracefully over his arm. As he slowly approached the door, listening actively to what the headmaster was saying, he felt the three students stare at him and turned. Seeing that they had been "exposed," Hange and Isabel immediately stood, their right fists clenched to the chests. Only Sarah did not move. Strange thing, since she was always the first to salute, whatever the situation was. At that moment, though, she had remained still, her hands intertwining in her lap, as she used to do when she walked. The girl stared straight ahead, looking at what Isabel remembered to be her father. Two pairs of identical eyes met, sending the exact same glacial gaze. They stood quiet for a few seconds, broken only by the husky voice of the director who hadn't realized that his host had stopped paying attention to him. The Hero turned again and greeted the elder, perhaps telling him he had things to do. As he walked out, Zackly turned to them, activating Sarah and leading her to salute the director correctly.

«Good evening.» the three said in chorus, receiving in response a greeting from the head. As the man left, the students remained there for a moment.

«He was here...» Sarah whispered. The words came out so gently they seemed like a sigh. Her jaw was set, and her fingers were so tight together that her knuckles had turned white. She seemed angry that her father had come to school, Isabel noted. She absolutely didn't know what kind of bond brought them together, but it didn't look too healthy.

«You didn't know that?» the eldest asked while still staring at the front door. Both of the companions watched the girl run a hand quickly under her eye, as if to take something off. As they resumed the road, Isabel glanced over her shoulder and decided to stir the atmosphere, which had suddenly become so sad.

«What a thrill!» she said, putting her hands back behind her head. They both laughed unexpectedly.

«You two are identical, ya' know Sis?» she said to Sarah, noticing better how that intense look had also been taken by his daughter. From time to time, she would send her a couple, giving shivers down her back.

«Yeah, I do.» the girl chuckled, putting a hand in front of her mouth.

«And not just in appearance. It's funny how similar Sarah is to her father, even in battle.» Hange broke in, pointing to their friend with the index finger. Sarah puffed in amusement, as if to say it was genetic.

«That I have never seen.» snorted the redhead, who had never yet seen the "great Sarah" practice. The two companions looked at each other and giggled louder, knowing wery well of the fact that she wanted so badly to see those of the "Front Line" train.

«For now, focus on your course, and we'll talk about it again. You are not so good.» the older one said, putting the hands on Isabel's shoulders and pushing the friend quickly towards the cafeteria.

«Hey, I can't help it, okay?!» she screamed, freeing herself. When they entered the great hall, the first thing they saw was the tall figure of Connar. Isabel wondered why she had never seen him before, and then she remembered that she, Levi, and Furlan always ate alone, so there was no way she could come into contact with anyone else in the male's class.

«Connar,» Sarah called him, making him spin abruptly. He was standing next to one of the round tables, surrounded by his friends and classmates.

«Scarlett made the nest,» she told him once he had approached, making him look worried.

«Oh, I forgot to tell you she would. Well, don't worry, it will last a few days,» he reassured them with a smirk. Isabel sent him a dubious look, which made him smile even more.

«Scarlett only likes women, so it will be enough for the first heats to cool off, and she will return to the way she was before. The problem is that it will be unmanageable until mid-February,» he said, ruffling his hair. He meant that she would not wait too long for a male to arrive, since as soon as her animal instincts pacified, she would return to thinking more humanly.

"Does Scarlett like women ?!" she mentally screamed. She had seen many homosexual women in her life and had to admit that almost all of them had a masculine dress style and behavior. But Scarlett hadn't given her that impression. It was true, she looked as if she didn't identify herself either as a woman or as a man, but that didn't lead her to immediately think she might be attracted to her same gender. On the contrary, from her behavior, Scarlett seemed not capable of feeling love for anyone. It must have been wrong, she thought.

«What a consolation.» while the other two sighed, happy not to have to deal with that pungent smell for too long.

«Let's hope she will not flirt with everyone.» joked Hange, which led the boy to scratch his scar guilty.

«Oh, she will. Among other things,» whispered embarrassed. Scarlett was not the type to flirt with who she liked. She didn't know anything about making the first move and things like that, so she always ended up seeing her love interests hooking up with someone else. Only now it was instinct, and so she would go into any advance to calm the urge. Sarah thanked him for the information, and they left.

«Who exactly is Connar?» the redhead asked Hange. She was curious to find out more about that boy, and it made her blush a little.

«Born in Anklam, owner of 100% Agility, great friend of Scarlett, roommate of Levi and Furlan, best student in the ninth-grade class of the "Front Line" course, and Sarah's number one fan.» they listed, raising a finger at each point.

«Fan number one ..?» asked. She thought they were together, and, if not officially, at least in secret.

«He has a huge crush on her, but it can't work,» they answered with a sigh.

«It seems to me that Sis likes him too.» she corrected them, remembering the scene a few hours earlier in the library.

«I'll explain it to you another time.» Hange cut the conversation. Before Isabel could follow her companion to their usual table, the elder stopped her by taking her by the shoulders.

«Sarah, I'm stealing her from you tonight. I want to introduce her to someone,» explained, pushing her away.

«See ya' Sis,» Isabel said, seeing that the girl did not know what to reply, as she was confused by that news. They hurried off, passing by tables and tables of people, to the one at which Hange used to eat. As soon as they entered their field of vision, the guys present there greeted them.

«Zoë!» a girl yelled stooding up.

«Hey, hey!» the other answered, making the younger sit next to the only boy in the group: Moblit Berner. Isabel already knew him, as he often followed Hange around the school, making sure they didn't bother the other students with their questions about their quirk. He was a great guy, but he lacked in self-confidence, and this led him to fold over his partner, sometimes passing for their dog.

«Ah. Are you the newcomer, huh?» asked the same girl as before, sitting again at the round table. The redhead smiled proudly.

«That's right. Isabel Magnolia, nice to meet you,» she said, violently hitting her chest with her closed fist, which hurt her more than anticipated.

«I'm sorry,» she whispered, leaning slightly forward. A light laugh made her raise her head a little, and her green eyes met the golden ones of one of the other two strangers. She was a curvy girl, with pink curly hair and two rabbit-like ears that rested delicately on her shoulders. It didn't seem like this was connected with her quirk, as she didn't feature anything else similar to the rodent, but it was interesting nonetheless. Like all of them, she wore, over the uniform, the white coat that they used during the "Medical Team" program. 

«You are so adorable,» she said, looking at her affectionately.

«No, that's not true! I am dangerous and deadly!» she yelled at her assuming the most troublesome and most frightening expression she could make. It didn't have the desired result, though.

«For Maria! She's so lovely!» shrieked the other hugging her.

«Leica, leave this dangerous monster of the night alone,» Hange said, returning, and placing the tray with dinner in front of their companion, thus ordering the other to let go of her head. Nothing special that night: meat with mashed potatoes and an orange for fruit. Certainly better than anything she had eaten in her life. While Isabel began to eat, the companion, with a big smile on her face, started introducing her to the others.

«These are Leica Keller and Gabriella Castro. We are part of the same class,» they explained, pointing to the two girls to Isabel's left. Keller smiled at her again as Castro gave her the thumbs up. She looked like a normal girl, with no strange details that made her realize her power. Castro had cheeky cut brown hair and tanned skin. When she spoke, it seemed to her that she had a southern European accent, and it also seemed to make sense, given the large dark eyes that looked at her curiously. A third student was present at the table but had not yet given any sign of wanting to meet the rookie.

«Sophie Seidensabber is our senior. It's rare to see her here, that's why I made you come,» Hange explained, pointing to the lady sitting opposite to them. Isabel felt a kind of unease growing inside her as she analyzed her thin figure, bent over a medicinal manual. Besides the long, gnarled hands that ran along the pages of the tome, the unusual thing about her was the wax-like skin studded with perfect rows of moles, as black as her four eyes, the two uppermost slightly smaller than those below, hidden behind a pair of large round glasses.

«Why?» she asked. She tried not to stare too vigorously at the long trail of spots that started from the middle finger of each hand and continued in a single file to the cheeks, splitting there in two directions: those that went towards the mouth faded to the lips, while those towards the ears, hidden by long purplish hair, did the inverse.

«Those from the last year spend most of their time outside with their chosen Branches. I'm in the Military Police, so I take care of the injured Villain staying inside Unterwelt. I restored your friend. The short one.» the person involved answered her without taking her eyes off her book. She had a strange voice, as if followed by a perennial buzz in the background.

«Thaks...» whispered the redhead, who found the last information not needed. Peering at her a little more, Isabel noticed that what she had mistaken for moles were actually holes. Her entire arms and face were covered with several little cuts! Before she exploded into her head wondering what kind of power consisted in being a colander, Castro called her.

«So, Magnolia, how are you doing?» she asked, taking off her small square glasses. It was strange to say, but ninety percent of the "Medical Team" students wore glasses. Maybe that was just because they kept them all the time, but she had barely seen any of the other courses have them daily.

«Very well. At least I have some weird roommates like me. But, to be clear, I think Hange is the least weird of them all.» she admitted laughing.

«You can understand the level, then.» Hange put a hand on her head and chuckled too, perfectly aware of the fact that they were one of the most unusual people ever seen among them. Keller stepped over to the new arrival again.

«What quirk do you have? Your classmates say it's impressive,» she asked, dangling her ears a little. Isabel twisted her mouth, not quite kenning on how to explain it.

«I've never really understood how it works. I just know that by licking someone's blood, I can understand where it hurts and how to cure it,» tried explaining. During the days in the slums, Isabe had never taken care of her friends, perfectly capable of looking after themselves. But had used it to tell them exactly what needed to be fixed, as the mere contact with the liquid and her taste buds made her understand where and why it was coming out. Yet how she had never explained it. It seemed that everything she needed to know was contained in that red composite and was revealed to her as an instinct.

«But I'm an idiot, and so it's not very useful.» she smiled, scratching her head. She sighed in distress when she realized she probably wouldn't be able to get through the year.

«Nah, you are making great progress.» her companion reassured her. Seeing her so sad made them not be able to not compliment her on the excellent results achieved despite having been there for less than a month. As they returned to eat, Seidensabber lowered the book for a moment and adjusted her glasses better on her petite nose, opening two more pairs of completely dark eyes, smaller than the main ones, and placed on the sides of the forehead.

"A fucking spider!" Isabel screamed mentally. At least she now understood why she was literally called "Silky drool."

«Zoë, is it true what they say?» she asked, looking at the student with a more than serious look.

«About what, exactly?» they tried to get her to specify better what she meant.

«About the fact that Heil was here?» she answered, making everyone stop. Isabel cheered.

«Oh, yeah. We met Heil at the entrance,» answered for the partner.

«You say he was here for Smith?» she resumed without deigning Isabel a glance, as if her report had been unwelcome by the student. And it made the redhead nervous, who still couldn't like the hierarchy that this school had created, based more on the class attended rather than the age.

«I do not believe. I think it was more because of these three troublemakers. Why?» Hange seemed to guess why she was interested in something inherent to Heroes. Usually, Seidensabber rathered not wanting to know anything about anyone in this profession, preferring to learn more about the government system that commanded them. But if she had asked them such a thing, then it meant that it was something more than relevant.

«You know Schulte? The Schulte of the fourth year.»

«Yes.»

«His father works for the government. It seems that many young German heroes are going abroad,» she reported. Castro, at that information, choked on her dinner.

«So, you are telling us that...» Moblit interjected, understanding what the eldest was saying.

«It may be. After all, the most competent are listed for better schools,» said, finally letting Isabel know what she was noticing.

"Better schools?" she thought. She didn't understand why they had to leave. If they were going abroad, who would protect Germany?

«If so, then we need to prepare ourselves.» Keller nodded sadly, letting Isabel apprehend that maybe they had an idea of who could be cast among them. The young woman thought that they would almost certainly take the more juvenile ones, since it made no sense to transfer students who were now officially operating in the German heroic system.

«Do you know that Japan has one of the strongest Heroes we have ever see?» Castro's voice pushed her away from her thoughts.

«Nobody knows his quirk, but it seems to be so powerful that, with just the air of his paw, he can destroy a twenty-floors building.»

«What an exaggeration,» Moblit told her, not trusting rumors. The girl snorted.

«I swear!- she hit the table with ire -He is our age, more or less, and the government is already saying he will be the future Number One of Japan!» she shouted to her companion. Her friend put a hand on her shoulder, as if to calm her down.

«Big changes are expected for the world of us Heroes.» Seidensabber broke in again, closing, for this time definitely, the book and placing it on the table. As she sipped her tea, five pairs of eyes fell on her, curious to know what she was talking about.

«Smith alone is the proof of this. And, if this Japanese Hero story you tell is true, then you'll have a lot of work to do, Zoë.» explained, glancing at Isabel's second roommate, sitting across the room and engaged in an exciting discussion with a girl who attended their class, but was part of "Support."

«I hope so. I have so many ideas and projects!» the older one shrieked happily, excited at the idea that increasingly complex powers could be studied. Isabel took another spoonful of mashed potatoes and turned back to her friends' table.

"Is Sis really a "big change"?" she thought, looking at her. She didn't know what that meant, but seeing her quirk that day had made her realize why she was so idolized in that school.


End file.
